(1090 The Fan) — A hat trick from defenseman Shea Theodore was not enough to save Seattle from a third consecutive defeat, this one coming 5-3 at the hands of Victoria.

Brandon Fushimi and Brandon Magee had two goals apiece and Tyler Soy added three points for Victoria (11-9-0-1) which continued its recent dominance over the Thunderbirds in front of 4,070 Friday night at the ShoWare Center.

Another lackluster start had Seattle trailing 3-0 not even five minutes into the second period against a Victoria squad that swept them 4-0 last year. Coming on the heels of back-to-back lopsided defeats at the hands of its I-5 rivals last weekend, this loss leaves Seattle now in a tie for last in its division with Tri-City.

The Royals scored first when Soy beat T-Birds starting goalie Justin Myles at the 13:35 mark. It remained 1-0 through the first intermission, but as the second period got underway, a couple of bad Seattle turnovers led to goals by Magee and Fushimi, putting the Royals up 3-0 just 3:27 in and sending Myles to the bench.

Danny Mumaugh came in and Theodore notched a couple of second period goals but the deficit was too much to overcome for Seattle.

“It was a tough one. I thought the boys played hard tonight, we did some good things and we just didn’t seem to get that go-ahead goal,” lamented T-Birds forward Branden Troock.

They weren’t able to get the tying goal, either, despite dominating in shots on goal the entire way, leading by as many as 27 at one point. Unfortunately for Seattle (11-6-0-2), it squandered opportunities left and right.

Alexander Delnov missed an open net from point blank range in the second period after a kind rebound, then Adam Henry did the same on a power play midway through the third period, both chances being potential equalizers. Additionally, the T-Birds hit as many posts as Victoria had shots-on-goal over the final six minutes.

It was that kind of story for the better part of the final 35 minutes, yet it was the first 25 that left Seattle head coach Steve Konowalchuk shaking his head.

“It is frustrating. The guys came out and played hard but a couple of casual moments end up in goals…and they capitalized,” Konowalchuk said. “We kept coming offensively but just couldn’t put the puck in the back of the net.”

At least nobody save for Theodore.

The hat trick is Theodore’s first through three seasons with the T-Birds. In 17 games now this season, Theodore has 10 goals — one behind the 11 of Roberts Lipsbergs for the team lead — to go with 11 assists.

“One-on-one he can beat guys,” said Konowalchuk of Theodore. “It was a good offensive game for him. That’s what he’s capable of bringing…he can really create havoc in the offensive zone.”

Despite the loss, coach Konowalchuk thought there were some things to take away heading into a game Saturday against Regina.

“There are a lot of positives,” Konowalchuk said. “We came out with emotion, we had a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm…overall we played a pretty good hockey game, we have to correct the odd casual moment, but I thought for the most part the ice was tilted in our favor.”

Their favor or not, Seattle can’t continue to put themselves in an early hole, nor miss scoring chances and expect to win the U.S. division.